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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235980">Lost Memories - Intelligent Laurels</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigercry/pseuds/tigercry'>tigercry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lost Memories - Collection [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sword Art Online (Anime &amp; Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:33:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25235980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigercry/pseuds/tigercry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Akira Yuuki, a.k.a Argo the Rat, a top tier informant in the game Sword Art Online, went into SAO without knowledge of the game becoming a deadly game that would change her life forever. Caylee Mitsuko, her best friend, however, knew the risks when she dived in with the intent to change the game's outcome and become the only hacking GM in Sword Art Online. With a high-level informant and a GM warned by Kyaba himself, can the players of SAO make it safely through the game? (Collection, not always sequential)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Argo (Sword Art Online) &amp; Original Character(s), Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lost Memories - Collection [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Truth of the Science Base.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>If you haven't read up to Chapter 5 of Lost Memories, please go back and read it first, otherwise spoilers are ahead in the story!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The electricity made Caylee writhe on her back on the floor of the science interrogation room, her body curling up and straightening out while her blue eyes rolled a little from the pain and she choked, the ‘truth serum’ dribbling out of her mouth as the hacker writhed. <em> I… promised… </em> Her confused, electricity numb mind barely made enough connections to make the thought happen as she hit the back of her head against the floor as her body straightened out and tried desperately to breathe. <em> I won’t… give… in…! </em></p>
<p>But she couldn’t breathe. The truth serum they had tried to pour into her mouth and get her to swallow was preventing her from breathing. Every time she tried to breathe more of the liquid just splattered out of her mouth and onto the floor around her as her muscles twitched and spasmed. Her vision dimmed to black, the pain was much less than the electricity normally was and she still couldn’t get any air into her screaming lungs. <em> A...Ar...Argo….. </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “ </em> <em> Come… wake… Cay…. Caylee… K-Lii!” </em></p>
<p><em> Caylee’s blue eyes forced themselves open and she blearily registered that she was underground in some long tunnel. She felt drained, and instinctively her eyes went to her health bar, which blinked back at her. Mere slivers of HP left in the hacker’s massive HP bar. “What… what happened?” She asked as she didn’t bother to try and sit up with her vision spinning to accompany the </em> <b> <em>Dizziness</em> </b> <em> debuff below her health bar. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Three faces looked back at her once her vision steadied, a blonde with a hood collapsed around her shoulders with whisker markings on her face, a boy dressed all in black, and a caramel haired girl dressed in white and red. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “You took on a boss solo, welcome to the club,” Kirito joked and Caylee watched Asuna slap his shoulder. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Kirito that wasn’t funny! Both of you guys could’ve died!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Caylee blinked slowly, trying to truly register what she had done. “But… how is my HP so low?” Hers was supposed to make an audible noise when her hp dropped to yellow. </em>
</p>
<p><em> Argo promptly smacked her upside the head, “ya used that </em> <b> <em>[Galactic Shadow]</em> </b> <em> skill of yours! Which I told ya to never use!” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “Love you too,” Caylee grunted and lifted a hand to rub at her head. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All at once Caylee felt the electricity stop and someone forcibly roll her over onto her stomach. Yanking her back into reality with a violent cough and dry heave.</p>
<p>“You idiots! We don’t want to kill any of the science players!”</p>
<p>Caylee could barely pay attention to him as she heaved for air propped up on her arms, coughing up a mixture of blood and the truth serum, none of which she had actually swallowed. </p>
<p>“Our orders are to extract information! Not kill them!”</p>
<p>Caylee fell onto her side, her body still twitching and spasming from the aftershocks as she curled up in a foetal position, coughing and struggling to tell what was reality and what was fake.</p>
<p>“But sir, this player knows nothing! We’ve had her here in here for six months and it’s all just one massive blank to her!”</p>
<p>Caylee slid mildly in and out of consciousness, barely able to hear their conversation as her body tried to recover. <em> A… Argo… </em> She missed her IRL bestfriend/girlfriend, Argo had been her only true companion in SAO, her better half for four and a half years and yet she wasn’t anywhere closer to seeing her again. If anything by the way her enhanced body was functioning, she was lucky to be laying here on the floor breathing. <em> I miss… you... </em></p>
<p>“Then train her and get her to the main base you moron!” </p>
<p>“But sir-”</p>
<p>“No buts about it soldier! I don’t give a flying rat’s ass if this girl is related to Akihiko Kyaba! If you can’t get information out of her without killing her then train her and get her out of here!”</p>
<p>“Sir-”</p>
<p>“Get her back to her cell and set her to begin her training in security! If she did work with teleporters then she’s clearly decent at computers!”</p>
<p>Caylee felt someone haul her up to her feet but she didn’t stand up, her feet weakly dragging on the floor while the person, with enhanced strength, held her up by one of her forearms. </p>
<p>“Open your eyes young lady,” the commanding voice softened, soothing to Caylee’s buzzing ears.</p>
<p>Caylee did as they asked, forcing her eyes open as much as she was able, her head lolling to one side while she was too weak to do it herself.</p>
<p>“Look at me,” and so Caylee did.</p>
<p>Caylee squinted, her blurry vision slowly focusing till she could actively see who was holding her up. She really should’ve been more surprised to see Shmitt of the Holy Dragon Alliance standing before her. The face and build were unmistakable, even if he was wearing a dark green collared shirt, grey camo pants, black army boots, and had a sword strapped to his back she knew it was him. </p>
<p>However, at the moment she could barely focus on him and she barely caught the discreet wink he sent her way. She did understand the message though, ‘let’s work together.’</p>
<p>So the hacker let her head loll downward in the form of a half nod, ‘okay.’ </p>
<p>“Alright,” Shmitt turned to the others in the room while Caylee kind of slid between being completely aware and floating in black space. “Now if I catch wind of something like this happening again I will dispatch you personally! Am I clear?!”</p>
<p>A chorus of, “sir yes sir!” was all Caylee heard before she felt Shmitt begin walking.</p>
<p>Caylee managed to make her hand purposefully nudge his side, and when he looked at her she mouthed two simple words, her eyes deadened and emotionally locked down. ‘Thank you.’</p>
<p>Shmitt gave the slightest of nods before he put her over his shoulder and Caylee didn’t resist.</p>
<p>Completely surrendering into the comforting blackness that beckoned her.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>This is a sketch of Argo and Caylee in Lost Memories SAO and later on in the general IRL base (I know that Argo really needs her hood up, I just didn't realize that till after I drew it XD)</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Before the Chaos.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Caylee can't just sit there and do nothing forever, she needs to act and she needs to act now.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Almost Five Years Ago</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Electronic devices shattered, art supplies scattered over the floor and rolled beneath her bed, papers flew through the air and a vase smashed into shards on the floor from it’s fall. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why?! Akira why did you have to go and do that?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Caylee ran a hand through her messy curls as she stopped pacing for a moment, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why did you skip school and log onto that mess of a videogame! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Asking that was pointless, Caylee already knew the answer to her own question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just had to be there first and gather all the information you could, didn't you,” Caylee sighed angrily and wanted to punch something. Screw not breaking things, not when Akira was as per usual off being reckless and impulsive and this time she had really done it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If your gamertag isn’t like the beta’s I’m going to lock you up in the Black-Iron-Palace when I get there!” Caylee’s hands fell to her sides, “if I can get there at all.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her best friend was trapped. Trapped in a VR game that was so tempting to play, but after messing up the beta for her cousin Caylee had surrendered her copy of the game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her blue gaze wandered around her now rather destroyed bedroom, “I don’t have my nervegear anymore and I gave back my beta-free copy to my cousin.” Tears welled in Caylee’s blue eyes, “how am I supposed to reach you when you’re off in a completely different world?”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Caylee’s sharp ears registered the door opening, but she didn’t respond to it. Her eyes still on the SAO victim she had known for many years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, Caylee, should’ve expected to see you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou, Akira and Asuna’s older brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee remained still, she was leaning forward on her arms on the mattress, one of Akira’s hands tucked comfortably in both of Caylee’s and held up near her lips. “Good afternoon, Kouichirou.” Her greeting was flat, little emotion coloring the phrase. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou walked around the other side of the hospital bed, his sharp eyes not missing Caylee’s rumpled appearance and the various textbooks and papers spread out on the mattress as well. Advanced computer technology, psychology, physics, handwritten sheet music, they were all signs of Caylee spending likely too much time there with the comatose blonde. “I finally got permission to visit her, mother wasn’t exactly keen on any of us visiting her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t surprise me,” Caylee told him rather flatly, her voice was rather raspy, “my family’s paying for her medical expenses. My parents don’t mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou smiled sadly at her and looked at the unconscious blonde whose head was mostly hidden by the NervGear rig. “Thanks for being with her these long years, I just wish you hadn’t had to like you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee shrugged and lightly pressed her lips to the backs of Akira’s fingers, “I’d do it again in a heartbeat if she needed me to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even so, you should go home and take a shower and rest Caylee,” Kouichirou spoke gently in a brotherly way, “when was the last time you went home? Not to school, but home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A week or so,” Caylee replied simply, “I have clothes in my backpack and the nurses pretty much ignore my existence at this point so I can just sleep here and go to school.” She was silent for a moment, and Kouichirou waited, guessing she would add something else. And sure enough, in a quiet voice she spoke, “it’s too quiet without Akira there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou’s eyes softened, “your family still in the U.S.A?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee nodded silently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sensing she didn’t want to talk about her family anymore, Kouichirou switched topics, addressing a rumor he had heard before SAO happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard Akira asked you out before this happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee looked startled and her cheeks flushed, “Oh… uh y-yeah, Asuna tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou smiled at her and shook his head, “no, Akira told me, she asked what a computer nerd like yourself would want to do for a first date.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee snorted and rolled her eyes, “pretty sure I had a pop quiz-like test that day and we ended up hanging out with a movie before I spent an hour teaching Akira how to cook something besides ramen. She may enjoy detective work and sneaking around to gather all the information on something as possible, but she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible</span>
  </em>
  <span> in a kitchen without guidance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Kouichirou admitted, “but I’m be honest, that sounds more like something you’d enjoy than going to a movie or out to eat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee shrugged, her lips affectionately brushing over Akira’s fingers. “Doesn’t matter now, Akira’s worlds away from us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kouichirou sighed and his eyes wandered around the hospital room, only to settle on the picture set next to the bedside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was of Akira, a boy with jet black messy hair, and Caylee, but they looked to be wearing almost midevil clothes besides Caylee. Caylee was in the middle of falling backward onto the stonepath from what looked like Akira jumping at her while the poor boy was running after them. Inside the picture frame the white space below the picture had a symbol and a name. The symbol was of a cartoon rat made out of a circle with ears and three whiskers on each cheek. Below the symbol was a name: Argo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s Argo?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee followed his gaze and briefly glanced at the image before she shifted Akira’s hand into being in only one of hers. Allowing her to pick up a pencil and start working on her homework as she spoke, “Argo was the name of Akira’s SAO beta gamertag. She was essentially a detective journalist in the beta, and…” Caylee’s voice cracked and she cleared her throat, “...I bet that’s what she’s doing right now. While I’m just sitting here, doing nothing to help her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee rubbed the bridge of her nose, her glasses being annoying because of what she did. Her psychology homework just wasn’t making any sense anymore. In fact, none of her schoolwork made any sense to her at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was sure what it was because she couldn’t focus in class any more, her mind always on the motionless girl in a hospital while she was helpless to aid her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee took off her glasses and rested her folded arms on Akira’s bedside, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who knows how long the game is going to last?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Her head lowered till it rested softly on top of her arms, her gaze still focused on Akira’s peaceful face. Players were practically dropping like flies from SAO and from the near useless game logs Caylee had scrounged through her laptop and Akira’s nervegear, a lot of them were suiciding, unable to handle the pressure of being trapped in a game.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Fear stabbed her in the heart, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Akira’s strong, but can she handle this? And does she know her sister’s in there somewhere too? What am I going to do?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The question stumped Caylee, what was she going to do? It had been nearly a month now since the game had started and there weren’t any other available NerveGears…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Caylee’s laptop beeped and the computer nerd immediately sat up before she read the notification displayed over her screen and flashing. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened at it’s contents.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>WARNING! FLOOR 1 BOSS ROOM LOCATION FOUND! WARNING!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no more time to debate about acting, she needed to get in there and she needed to get in there now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry cuz,” Caylee said as she closed her laptop and stood up, her chair clattering behind her in her haste, “but I’m gate crashing your party.” With that she turned and strode out of the room, a minor emotionless scowl fixed on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Caylee?” Kouichirou spoke her name as she passed him in the large hallway, “what-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get someone to set up an identical set up beside Akira,” Caylee cut him off and called it over her shoulder as she broke into a run, “I’m going in after her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She missed the worried but resigned smile on Kouichirou’s face.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Dive Into SAO</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Being a cousin to Akihiko Kyaba has the occasional perk, even if he's now wanted for a videogame gone wrong.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Caylee’s hands slammed down on the lab desk, blue eyes positively flaming as she gave her cousin the strongest glare she could muster. “Give me a nervegear and SAO hard copy. I need to get in there.”</p><p>Akihiko Kyaba looked warily at his young cousin, “Caylee, I don’t-”</p><p>“I don’t give a damn about what you think Aki,” Caylee cut him off, “give me the gear, now.”</p><p>At Akihiko’s lack of quick verbal response Caylee snarled.</p><p>“Damn it Aki!” Caylee hit the stupid desk with the heel of her palm, causing it to make a loud metallic noise and everything bounced on it. “You caught Asuna and Akira in it!”</p><p>Akihiko Kayaba’s eyes widened and he spoke, his voice calm despite his semi wide eyes. “Caylee, I didn’t program the one death your brain fries program in SAO. I created a game where yes, you only have one life. However, it was never deadly and I never intended it to be used this way. Originally the logout problem was a glitch, and now, unless I’m diving inside the game to access Cardinal’s master GM area I’m completely locked out.”</p><p>Caylee mulled it over, her eyes widening as she straightened up and pointed at him, “wait, hold on. What do you mean you’re locked out?”</p><p>“It’s exactly what I said, Caylee, unless I am in game in the master’s GM room with the Cardinal AI in physical form beside me talking to me, I’m locked out of the game.”</p><p>Caylee blinked, no… “Someone hijacked your game…”</p><p>Akihiko nodded and stood up, “I am unable to do anything as of right now regarding the game. Cardinal tells me that the main GM accounts are entangled with code that I can’t get rid of due to my “Heathcliff” account being currently untouchable.”</p><p>Caylee watched him, a sense of panic beginning to bubble up beneath the surface. “Who hijacked it? Aki thousands of lives are at stake here! What if the game is hacked?! Then everyone can die!”</p><p>“I know,” Akihiko spoke calmly and pulled a familiar helmet and game case from one of the lab drawers before walking back. “So Caylee, if I give this to you you have to make a deal with me.”</p><p>Caylee instantly felt her panic vanish to be replaced with uneasiness, “what kind of deal?”</p><p>Akihiko’s eyes bore into hers and he helt out the , “you completely destroyed the beta of Sword Art Online, and now I need you to help me fix it. If I give you this NerveGear rig you have to help repair and locate the hijackers of Sword Art Online.”</p><p>Caylee took the edge of the helmet with one hand, blue eyes cold and frightening. “You work on the outside Aki, I’ll work with Cardinal and the best information broker I know on the inside. I’ll accept your deal if you accept mine.”</p><p>Akihiko Kayaba nodded to her and let go of the NerveGear and game. “Let’s work together, Caylee, and save the players and the world of Sword Art Online.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Mere moments ago she had “Link Start!” and now all Caylee could see was blue sky and the occasional cloud.</p><p><em> What the hell?! </em> Caylee freaked. This wasn’t the town of beginnings! Where the hell was she?! </p><p>The cloud cover broke and Caylee’s eyes widened to see the ground below her, very far below her.</p><p>“Aaaaaah!” She was so not in the air, no. She refused to believe that she was who knows how high up in the air instead of being on the freaking<em> ground! </em></p><p>“Aki I’m going to kill you!! System login ID: GalaxyWarrior!” Caylee shouted wildly into the air as she threw out an arm in front of her, windows beginning to spin around her body at the command. Causing a sense of relief to flood her body. Her hacker account was still active and hidden inside SAO even through the hijacking. “System command!” Caylee called confidently, “teleport GM to player ID: ARGO!” </p><p>She felt her body be enshrouded by blackness where she felt like she was floating for a few precious seconds before all at once she felt her body escape the shroud by colliding headlong into someone.</p><p>“Aeh!” A high-pitched voice, with an accent that sounded a little odd to Caylee’s ears, yelped as she crashed into something. She hadn’t heard the heavy accent for a while, not since the SAO Beta.</p><p>“Ooph!” Caylee grunted as the impact rippled through her body, her face colliding with something soft as she felt pebbles rolling beneath the heel of her palms as she slid with something across the ground. Cringing till she finally came to a stop. Where she let out a hissed breath and held a hand to her forehead, propping herself up on her arms, feeling a sudden group of stabbing pains in the back of her head, which made Akihiko’s words come to mind.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Be careful Caylee, if someone made it so players die IRL when they die in the game then I have doubts that they will accept the sudden emergence of a GM, hacker account or not. There will likely be physical repercussions for using GM privileges.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Caylee gave her cousin a weird look, “so you want me to literally hack your game instead of use the hacked GM privileges I have from the beta.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Use whatever will help you untangle my GM account the fastest while keeping yourself and the world alive.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Caylee’s blue eyes flickered toward her HP gauge as her ingame vision stuttered, lightly swaying from side to side. There below her health and stamina bars was a blinking icon: <b>Dizziness.</b></p><p><em> Seriously? Of course you would program getting dizzy into the game Aki, </em> Caylee mentally groaned and outwardly grimaced.</p><p>“‘Ey! Where’d ya come from? Up in the sky?!”</p><p>Caylee’s swaying vision focused at the icon disappeared and it focused on a familiar face.</p><p>A small blonde with short hair, a cowlick making two locks stick up in the center of her head, was sprawled on the ground partially below Caylee. She had a plain brown cloak wrapped around her shoulders while the hood had fallen back around her shoulders. She was wearing a tan-colored tunic beneath a light leather breastplate, dark trousers tucked into long boots, white wraps around her hands and wrists into fingerless gloves had a dagger holstered at her belt, and had a small leather bag thrown over one shoulder. </p><p>Caylee just stared, <em> wait a second</em>. <em> Why does Akira look like she does IRL? Her game avatar is normally taller... </em></p><p>“Hey!” The blonde player snapped in front of Caylee’s face to get their attention, “I’m talkin’ to ya! Who ‘re ya?”</p><p>That startled Caylee out of her thoughts and she fumbled. “oh, s-sorry!” Stumbling of her words while rolling backward in a messy child’s roll to get off of the other girl. Before she just sat there, leaning back on her arms and staring at the smaller girl. She had mixed feelings about the teleportation being a success, relief that she was there in front of her, embarrassment from obviously knocking her down, and a flash of fear from now being in the death game herself. There was no way out now besides beating the game, and in order to do that she needed to get to work protecting players from themselves. </p><p>“Hang on,” Argo turned around from brushing herself off and her intense brown eyes focused on Caylee, making the brunette freeze in spite of herself. “I know ‘hat voice anywhere.”</p><p>Caylee steeled herself up, no doubt Argo was going to be pissed that she entered the game after her. </p><p>“And that cloak…”</p><p>Caylee blinked and looked down at her herself, only for her eyes to widen. <em> What in the? </em> Wrapped around her shoulders was one of her beta iconic dark purple themed galaxy themed cloaks. It wasn’t the hacked boss siphon drop so the stars didn’t swirl and it didn’t cast unnatural shadows over her body, but it was definitely her floor six hand-made galaxy fabric cloak from the beta. Besides the cloak she was wearing starting gear, a midnight blue tunic tucked in at the front into pale gray trousers and leather ankle boots with no heel. She was completely weaponless excluding the tiny dagger strapped to her upper arm, and oddly enough it made the hacker feel bare and vulnerable.</p><p>“Caylee,” Argo spoke slowly, audible irritation in her voice, “if it’s ya behind ‘hat mask Aincrad help me Ima gonna kill ya.”</p><p><em> Mask? What mask? </em> Caylee cautiously lifted her hands to her face and felt familiar cool metal against her finger tips. “Oh,” one of her early mask helmets had come with her. So without speaking, Caylee pushed the hood of her cloak back, letting it settle around her shoulders as she undid the metal clip on the side at the base of her skull and slowly lifted the mask from her face, only to have it shatter into a hundred polygons at the durability finally breaking from the beta. </p><p>Argo didn’t speak nor move, and frankly neither did Caylee. </p><p>Caylee just stayed where she was, a rather foreboding weight in her gut telling her to get up and run, but she had no doubt Argo would out run her when she herself had zero skill points. <em> Please don’t kill me… please don’t kill me… </em> “Uh… hi?” She tried and flinched as Argo’s fingered twitching toward her curved dagger at her belt, “okay look, I can explain.”</p><p>“Ya intentionally went into da game. A game where ‘eople die Caylee!”</p><p>Caylee winced but swallowed and tried to regain her composure and her level head as she stood up, “yes, I know.”</p><p>“Peopl die ‘ere!” Argo repeated and stormed a few steps closer to the other girl.</p><p>“I-I know, y-you’re in the hospital,” Caylee stumbled nervously over her words, Argo’s anger making her flustered and nervous. </p><p>“I don’ fight!” Argo snapped, brown eyes flashing at her, “Ima fine here!”</p><p>“M-Maybe so,” Caylee forced her brain to function properly, even though her cheeks adopted a mild pink. She rarely saw Argo mad, and while it certainly wasn’t fun and scared her, it was really interesting to see. “However, even i-if you’re fine here other people aren’t. T-the game logs say,” okay her stutter was really grating on her nerves, “that a lot of p-players are suiciding Argo.” </p><p>Caylee cleared her throat and looked down at the other girl, her extra few inches making Argo look up slightly to look directly at her. “There are no active GMs in the game right now, the GM accounts have been disabled Akira, meaning…”</p><p>Argo’s eyebrows furrowed, “first, Ima Argo here ya idiot, and second, are ya sayin’ that there’s nobody regulatin’ the game?”</p><p>Caylee nodded, “you’re looking at the only person with active GM privileges in the now ten thousand-and-one players here in sword art online.”</p><p>Argo blinked, her expression of shock before Caylee watched her expression turn to a rather smug smirk, “and ya immediately teleported to little ol’ me?” She leaned up and teasingly pulled on Caylee’s cheek, “yer so cute!” she playfully cooed and Caylee sighed.</p><p>“I forgot how much you like to tease me…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Into SAO we go! This is where the story starts to become nonsequential with random moments.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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